Chapter 382: So Thin

The day after Jiang Zhe and his group departed. Once the various documents for this case—those for the Sect and those for the Prefecture City Surveillance Commissioner Office—were finalized, stamped, and sent out, Wang Shu also left.

However, Yuanye and his one thousand armored cavalry were still guarding the various city gates and strongholds.

Looking at those heavy-armored soldiers and their shimmering armor, the people of Xiangu County remained in a state of panic.

After the case concluded, Ximen Kankan and Liu Shushan left.

After all, they had been at the Sect for three years and had only been home for a few days to reunite with their families before being summoned by Duan Rong.

However, their trip was not in vain; their contributions to such a major case were recorded in the documents. This would be of great help to them when they advanced to Inner Sect Disciple in three years.

Seeing that Xiao Yu was in low spirits, Shen Mizhi stayed behind to keep her company for a few more days.

From the case to the burial of Xiao Zongting, Duan Rong had been busy to the point of exhaustion during this time.

On this day, he finally managed to find some leisure.

In a quiet room within Ximen Mansion, Duan Rong sat cross-legged on a bed behind a screen, his five centers facing the sky, practicing Qi circulation and breathing.

On the day Wei Ziyang was besieged, he had devoured the Weapon Spirit of Shen Qing's blade.

That is to say, the First Layer of the Six Harmonies Blade, a martial art of the Qi Refining Realm.

He had finished digesting and absorbing this Weapon Spirit that very day, but it was not until today that Duan Rong finally had the opportunity to quietly study this Qi Refining Realm martial art.

The realm of the First Layer of the Six Harmonies Blade had already been completely integrated into Duan Rong's Divine Soul.

At this moment, he was already extremely familiar with the Qi circulation method of the Six Harmonies Blade.

Following the Qi circulation path of the technique in his mind, Duan Rong began to perform the breathing exercises; half an hour later, however, Duan Rong opened his eyes with a look of astonishment.

"This Heaven and Earth Qi... is actually so thin?!"

After Duan Rong began to circulate his Qi and breathe according to the Six Harmonies Blade technique and entered the state, he could perceive the existence of Heaven and Earth Qi.

Yet at this moment, in the room where he was, there were only two wisps of Heaven and Earth Qi, as thin as ox hair, floating there.

With a thought, Duan Rong suddenly released his Divine Sense.

In that instant, the astonishment in his eyes grew even greater!

Within the vast space covered by his Divine Sense, in the vast twilight, there were actually only a dozen or so wisps of Heaven and Earth Qi floating there on their own...

Duan Rong could not help but let out a laugh.

Could the Heaven and Earth Qi really be so thin that it could be counted?

To call it thin was truly a compliment. In fact, a more accurate description would be that the Heaven and Earth Qi here was somewhere between non-existent and extremely thin.

With the Heaven and Earth Qi being this thin, even though Duan Rong was already very familiar with the First Layer technique, he was unable to break through to the Qi Refining Realm.

It was only then that Duan Rong recalled how, when Jiang Zhe and the others were circulating their Qi and adjusting their breathing that day, they would open a cold Black Jade Box and pop something that looked like an "Ice Sugar Gourd" into their mouths.

Although Duan Rong did not know what that thing was, thinking about it now, that item must have contained extremely dense Heaven and Earth Qi.

In fact, regarding the secular world having thin Heaven and Earth Qi, Duan Rong had already seen it in the classics of the Scripture Repository in the Sect, but he truly had not expected it to be this thin.

This wasn't thin; this was practically non-existent!

Duan Rong then thought of another reason; perhaps it had to do with Xiangu County being too remote.

Within the Sect, that is, within Changliu Mountain, the Heaven and Earth Qi was still quite dense.

And the densest place of all was the Underground World where space was distorted.

In truth, the Heavenly Dao laws of this realm could no longer give birth to Heaven and Earth Qi. This was the fundamental reason why the Heaven and Earth Qi was so thin.

The true source of Heaven and Earth Qi was within the space of the God-Demon Ruin.

Because the Heavenly Dao laws within the God-Demon Ruin were different from the Heavenly Dao laws of this realm, there was a continuous stream of Heaven and Earth Qi generated within it, permeating and spreading to the surroundings...

And the Underground World with distorted space was a strange space formed by the mutual erosion of the Heavenly Dao laws of the God-Demon Ruin and the Heavenly Dao laws of this realm over endless years. The Heavenly Dao laws within it were different from both those inside the God-Demon Ruin and those of this realm; it was an independent, alternate space.

In other words, the concentration of Heaven and Earth Qi throughout Qingzhou should be centered on the Changliu Mountain Range, decreasing as it spread outward.

Xiangu County was so remote, truly "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away," which was why the Heaven and Earth Qi here was practically non-existent.

Just as Duan Rong was thinking this, there was suddenly a knock-knock-knock sound at the door.

He jumped off the bed, walked over slowly, and opened the door.

He saw Zhu Xiaoqi standing outside the door, carrying a food box.

She was petite, and the food box was not large to begin with, but in her hands, it seemed quite big.

Duan Rong stepped aside, and Zhu Xiaoqi carried the food box inside.

She placed the food box on the table and took out two plates of snacks, smiling: "Miss Yu made these herself and asked me to bring them to you. One plate of osmanthus cakes, one plate of rose biscuits."

Duan Rong looked at Zhu Xiaoqi.

Zhu Xiaoqi was still in mourning at this time, dressed in plain clothes. But her eyes were bright, her lips like a peeled lychee, and a faint smile hung at the corners of her mouth.

Duan Rong said: "How is her mood lately? When I went to see her yesterday, I even saw her secretly wiping away tears. How does she have the heart to make snacks today?"

Zhu Xiaoqi sighed and said: "A few days ago, Miss Shen often kept her company and chatted, so her mood improved a bit. Miss Shen left the day before yesterday, and she became downcast again. I thought I would teach her to make some snacks to pass the time."

"Is that so?" Duan Rong looked at the two plates of snacks with interest; they looked quite good in terms of appearance.

Xiao Yu had been a dart-escort for years and had always carried the demeanor of a swordswoman. Xiao Zongting had no sons and seemed to have raised her as half a son; he had never known that Xiao Yu could make snacks.

Zhu Xiaoqi said: "These are all the snacks the young lady made. This is the young lady's heartfelt gesture, you must finish them."

After Zhu Xiaoqi finished speaking, she covered her mouth and smiled, curtsied, and left.

Duan Rong's gaze flickered; the expression Zhu Xiaoqi had when she looked at him at the end seemed a bit strange.

However, Duan Rong was indeed a bit hungry. He sat at the table, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, and took a light bite.

As the pastry entered his mouth, Duan Rong's expression changed slightly.

"This is... too terrible!"

He managed to swallow the pastry in his mouth, held the half-eaten piece in his hand, hesitated for a long time, and finding it truly impossible to eat, he put it back on the plate.

He now understood the meaning behind the strange look Zhu Xiaoqi had when she left; she must have known it tasted terrible, yet she still brought it to him and instructed him to finish it all.

Is this girl deliberately trying to mess with me?!

Duan Rong found a sheet of rice paper and wrapped up the two plates of snacks. He was hungry anyway, so he might as well go out to eat something and take care of these two plates of snacks while he was at it.

If Xiao Yu or Zhu Xiaoqi asked tomorrow, he would just say he had eaten them all.

Although the case had already been closed, the newly appointed Magistrate of Xiangu County, Guo Xiangbao, was still busy to the point of being overwhelmed, never having a moment to rest.

Only two days after Jiang Zhe and Wang Shu had left, the soldiers Yuan Ye had stationed at the old residence of Wei Yutian discovered a large number of mummified corpses in the pond by the pavilion in the back courtyard.

After those soldiers reported the matter to Yuan Ye and Guo Xiangbao, the two of them ordered the organization of a search that turned over all the silt at the bottom of the pond.

This turning over was a serious matter; they actually unearthed several hundred mummified corpses and skeletons.

Upon examination by the Coroner of the County Government Office, those mummified corpses and skeletons were all female.

Regarding this matter, Guo Xiangbao wrote another formal report, sending one copy to the Surveillance Commissioner Office in the prefecture and one copy to the Sect.

A few days later, Yuan Ye and his one thousand iron cavalry also withdrew from Xiangu County.

Only after this did the marketplace of Xiangu County slowly begin to show signs of life again...

Although on the surface Xiangu County seemed to have returned to its former tranquility, Magistrate Guo Xiangbao was still at his wit's end.

Even though this case had subsided, the wound it had left on Xiangu County was truly too great.

He was currently holding the sealed assets of the major merchant firms, and he was pondering how he should handle them.

Over these three years, Sun Qian had cleverly devised pretexts and used various forms of suppression and coercion to seize the assets of the major merchant firms from their original owners, either by forcing them to sell at a pittance or by outright theft.

There were those who wanted to stand up to Sun Qian, but within a few days, their entire families were wiped out overnight.

Sun Qian simply closed those cases by labeling them as "jianghu feuds with no leads."

After that case, the original owners of the major merchant firms either went into hiding or moved away, and not a single one dared to show their face again.

But in these past few days, these people had all surfaced, beginning to use various connections to find a way through the new Magistrate, Guo Xiangbao.

They hoped to annul the transactions made with Sun Qian's subordinates and take back the assets they had been forced to sell at a pittance back then. After all, those people were all members of the Filthy Blood Sect, and their transactions back then were signed in front of Sun Qian at the Ya Men; it was clearly done under duress!

For these past few days, Guo Xiangbao had been mulling over this matter.

Even if he were to confiscate all these assets, it would actually be within the bounds of the law.

However, doing so would be detrimental to the long-term peace and stability of Xiangu County, and more importantly, it would be detrimental to himself.

Guo Xiangbao was already leaning toward returning those assets to the original owners of the major factions, but while returning them was fine, he had to be given some benefits.

Guo Xiangbao rubbed his hands together and gulped down a large mouthful of strong tea. "If you do well, I do well, and everyone does well! If I return your things and you don't show some appreciation, wouldn't you be treating me, Guo, like a sucker?"

Guo Xiangbao set down his teacup and began to ponder how to extort the major factions.

Half a month later, the mourning period for Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi had ended.

On this day, Xiao Yu and Duan Rong were strolling in the garden inside the Ximen Mansion.

The garden path had no Personal Attendant to sweep it and was covered in fallen leaves; the two of them stepped on them, producing a crunching sound.

"Xiao Yu!" Duan Rong suddenly called out to her.

Xiao Yu made a sound of acknowledgement in her throat and continued walking.

Duan Rong said, "I promised you that I would propose to Xiao Lao when I returned. But I didn't expect Xiao Lao to meet with such an accident. Now, you are like me, both of us people without family."

Xiao Yu stood there, looking at Duan Rong, her eyes flickering with a certain emotion.

Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and said, "Since Xiao Lao is no longer here, I shall propose to Heaven and Earth! With the vast sky above and the thick earth below! Xiao Yu, are you willing to marry me?"

As Duan Rong spoke, he actually knelt on one knee, took out a gold bracelet with exquisite patterns from his hand, and held it out toward Xiao Yu.

Duan Rong was using the Western-style marriage proposal method from his past life. In the memories of the original body, he knew very little about the marriage customs of this world. Duan Rong simply relied on his own ingenuity to express his heart directly! He believed that people share the same feelings and hearts, and as long as he expressed himself sincerely, Xiao Yu would always be able to understand him.

When Duan Rong said those words, Xiao Yu had already felt a chill run through her body, but when Duan Rong knelt on one knee and handed her the glowing bracelet, Xiao Yu's tears could not stop flowing.

At that moment, her heart had already melted!

Through her tear-blurred eyes, she looked at Duan Rong's slightly upturned face; that face seemed to have pierced through countless years to arrive before her.

Xiao Yu pulled Duan Rong up in a panic and said, "Get up quickly! Don't let anyone see you!"

Xiao Yu had seen how other families' young ladies got married, and this method of Duan Rong's was something she had never heard of. Although she was very moved, she also felt that letting Duan Rong kneel halfway before her seemed to be against the rules of propriety!

Duan Rong was pulled up by Xiao Yu and said, "You still haven't said whether you agree or not?"

Xiao Yu made a sound as faint as a mosquito's hum and lowered her head.

Duan Rong was overjoyed; having lived two lives, he was finally going to have a wife!

Duan Rong gently placed the filigree gold bracelet from his hand onto Xiao Yu's wrist, and Xiao Yu stood there, letting him handle it.

Xiao Yu looked at Duan Rong's gentle and earnest appearance, her heart filled with joy.

Although she had lost her father and sister, being able to become joined in marriage with Duan Rong meant she was finally not without support in this world.

Since the two had privately pledged their lives to each other, the next step was to prepare for the wedding.

Although Duan Rong knew very little about the marriage customs of this world, Xiao Yu knew them very clearly.

First, they had to find a matchmaker who could interpret the Eight Trigrams to check their palm prints and birth dates, and have the matchmaker choose an auspicious day.

Once the day was chosen, it would be time to prepare for the wedding and notify friends and family.

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong immediately began to busy himself with finding a matchmaker. It was just that he had never had much social interaction in this regard.

Duan Rong went to seek help from Yang Zhen.

As a Constable, Yang Zhen happened to have a matchmaker in the area he was responsible for. That afternoon, Yang Zhen brought the matchmaker to the Ximen Mansion to find Duan Rong.

The matchmaker looked at the birth dates of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, then took a calendar and marked out three days for them, saying that all three were auspicious days.

Duan Rong was in an excellent mood, so he rewarded the matchmaker with a banknote.

The matchmaker received the banknote, thanked him repeatedly, and left in high spirits.

Duan Rong then discussed the specific date with Xiao Yu in the room.

Duan Rong leaned toward the middle of the three days, which was the nineteenth of next month.

"I was thinking, it would be best to hold the wedding within our three-month home leave. Once these three months pass, who knows what tasks the Sect might assign us?"

Xiao Yu's voice was infinitely gentle. "Mm, you arrange it."

Since the date had been set, the next step was to prepare for the wedding. Duan Rong thought he should first find a residence to purchase.

Xiangu County, having undergone such a great upheaval, had quite a few vacant large residences; it was the perfect time to acquire one.

This day, just as Duan Rong was preparing to go to the agency to take a look, a clerk from the County Government Office suddenly came to find him.

When he was handling the case, this clerk had come here to find him several times, so it was not the first time the two of them had dealt with each other.

"Imperial Envoy Duan, my master has an urgent matter and invites you to the County Government Office for a talk," the clerk said, bowing with a face full of smiles.

Duan Rong's heart stirred. The case had already been closed; he wondered what Guo Xiangbao could be looking for him for again.

"Let's go!" Duan Rong said, then strode out, and sure enough, he saw two fast horses already tethered beside the entrance.

When this clerk first came to see Duan Rong, he had brought a small soft-sedan chair, but Duan Rong had not sat in it at all. The clerk then understood Duan Rong's temperament, and whenever he came to see Duan Rong afterward, he always led the way on horseback.

(End of chapter)